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As January approached and, in fact, right up until making my decision this week, I gave a lot thought to what I wanted my colour of the year to be for 2015, the precise halfway mark in this decade (if that thought doesn't throw your head for a loop, I don't know what will!). The issue wasn't that I couldn't selection a hue, but indeed quite the opposite. There were so many that I could have very easily, and happily, shone the spotlight on this year.

In 2014, purple - that most regal and splendidly pretty of colours - got to enjoy its moment at the forefront of my colour loving mind and wardrobe. Though in the end I didn't add as many new violet pieces to my closet as I would have liked (I'm still very much on the hunt for a pair of vintage appropriate, budget friendly purple shoes), I did increase the count there by a few items. These include accessories such as scarves, a floral brooch, and an elegant 50s hat, and enjoyed finding ways to weave shades of aubergine, plum, lavender and other members of the purple family into my life, daily outfits, and even cooking (grape jelly thumbprint cookies, anyone?) throughout each of the last twelve months.

It was a fun, feminine hue to work with and one that I've certainly developed a deeper appreciation for as a result. This year however, I'm in a pragmatic mood and given that I plan to spend very little on myself in 2015, when I do, I want my vintage wardrobe budget dollars to go as far as possible, and that means focusing on pieces I don't just love and desire, but genuinely have a need for.

With this thought in mind, by the end of December, I'd narrowed my list of possible choices down to four, than three and sat at a stalemate for a couple of weeks. Ultimately, it was a trip to my closet and bureau drawers that helped me nail down my choice. Which, as you might have guessed by the images highlighted in this month's edition of Flickr Favourites, is none other than the warm, wonderful and exceedingly classic colour that is brown!

I love brown. I mean, really, really, really love it! I can remember with crystal clarity the first time I knew that brown and I were going to be sartorial BBFs. Around the time I entered the eighth grade, I got a new long sleeved checkered shirt that was a mix of teal and milk chocolate brown, as well as a matching teal and brown t-shirts to wear with it. The moment I slipped that checkered top on, I saw the way that brown (and to be fair, also teal) lit up my skin and brought out the tones of green and gold in my eyes. Whereas black (and also white, for that matter) worn near the face of so often washed me out or give my skin a pallid tone, brown made it sign like the first sun-kissed days of spring.

I got scores of compliments whenever I sported that shirt and would probably still have it to this day, had I not worn it to the point of tatters in my teen years. I knew right then and there that brown was for me and I've enjoyed draping myself in this earthy, beautiful colour ever since. That said though, at the moment I wouldn't say that my wardrobe is teaming with it, and given the sort of magical effect it has on my skin, hair and eye colouring, it seriously should be.

On top of coming up with fun new ways to wear the chocolate, espresso, grizzly bear, mushroom, fawn, mud, and cinnamon shades I have in my closet already, I will definitely be aiming to add more brown to my daily looks and elsewhere in my life - including further blog posts - this year that will have all soil hued things at their heart.

As a timeless nuetral (that is often relegated to the roll of playing second fiddle to black, grey and navy blue, yet is worthy of just as much fashion world affection as they are), brown has a lot of earnest soul and plays well with scores of other colours - from green to mustard yellow, red to aqua - and will be a joy to focus on throughout 2015. My top dream brown item? A fitted 1940s or 50s skirt suit, pretty please. I don't own a suit in this flattering colour and believe that acquiring one would be a serious boon to my wardrobe.

How do you feel about brown? Do you wear it often yourself or is it one of those colours that you've never felt overly pulled towards? I hope that my focus on it throughout 2015 will help bolster your own love and appreciation of this Mother Nature approved choice and that it might even inspire you to add a touch more russet, taupe, chestnut, burn umber, or tree bark to your own closet this year!

42 comments:

when i was young i never wore brown, i was snowwhite - ya know! but since the hair is silver and the complexion a bit more yellow then blueish i love brown. in every shade. and every combination. and i can totally see why it flatters you! come over for taking measurements that i can sew the brown dream suit for you ;-)<3 <3 <3

Aww, that would be awesome, my dear friend. If only such were possible. I just know you'd excel at making my dream brown suit.

I suspect that many of us raised in more recent generations didn't grow up wearing much brown (save perhaps for school, sports or work uniforms) and it's a shame. It's such a warm, multi-fauceted colour that really suits many people superbly. It's awesome that you developed a love for it in more recent years. In the outfits you've shared where brown was present, it always looked superb on you, sweet Beate!

Brown is cruelly overlooked in my closet... unless you count leopard print, in which case I've got it covered ;) In all seriousness, I've struggled to find the perfect shade of brown and I think it's something to do with my warm, light brown hair. Tan's always been a favourite of mine for accessories though - it goes with *everything*. I'm looking forward to being inspired by your colour pairings featuring brown - I'd quite like to add some more of it to my wardrobe :) CC x

You know, I think that it is a ton of people's (as is, albeit perhaps to a lesser degree, navy blue - in so much as it was a larger staple back in the day) and I've been guilty of it at times myself. I really hope to add more brown to my wardrobe this year and to perhaps even discover new shades that work with my colouring.

Tan is lovely! I don't have much of it myself at present: a great 80s does 40s a-line button front skirt and charming vintage mid-century rain coat (that's closer to dark cream, really) are the main pieces at present. I'll try to find some more in that hue, too.

Have you tried fawn/fox brown? Eons ago when I was a brunette, I found it worked better than a lot of other shades because of the reddish orange undertones that stood out more than, say, coffee or cocoa brown.

So true about Marsala. The shade that Pantone is calling that is gorgeous, but it's very much in between a lot of other hues (and closest to oxblood, IMO) and will likely be hard to find at least at first for those looking to weave it into their wardrobes.

I'm happy to know you're jumping on the brown bandwagon with me for 2015! :)

Pretty pictures. And I'm glad you got a color that appeals to you. I hate to be a spoilsport but brown turns me off. It's probably the only hue in the entire spectrum I dislike for clothing. My mom used to force me to wear ugly brown (male) clothes as a boy and I never recovered from that. :-) Enjoy your year of it.

I get that entirely, Ally. So many of our negative childhood experience on all kinds of fronts stay with, and influence us, throughout the rest of the year. I'm sorry that brown stirs up such unpleasant memories for you. Hopefully I can help to counterbalance them a touch with my feel good posts/outfits pertaining to this colour throughout 2015.

I look forward to seeing all the lovely things you come up with this year. I personally don't own anything brown because it washed my skin out. Everybody tells me I should suit brown as I have greeny-brown eyes and copper tones to my hair but my skin is cool toned and looks better with black!

Also I was born in the 70s and I do believe that I was scarred for life by the overwhelming colour palette of brown and orange!!!!!!

I love, love, love brown! I actually wear it quite often.. much more than I did in my younger days. My favorite shade is dark chocolate brown, but I also love molasses. :) so glad you've chosen this color, and I'm so looking forward to your posts! What fun!

I am really glad that you chose brown. Brown is actually the color I have decided on for fall/winter this year (I always change my mind when spring and summer come along). I am excited to start working on sewing and acquiring some brown things. I can't wait to see what lovely pieces your wardrobe will include.

Very cool! It's wonderful that brown has been on your mind lately, too. What sorts of garments are you planning to make? I super hope to add that elusive brown suit to my closet this year, a brown skirt or two, and a nice 40s or 50s brown house dress or shirtwaist dress would be really lovely - and of course, I wouldn't say no to another brown hat or pair of shoes! :)

I have to say, being a devoted follower of black, that I am only just starting to branch out into the world of brown! I don't think it will ever replace my beloved black, but I have picked up a black wrap top to wear with skirts this year. It is possibly the first brown item to enter my closet for years!

Objectively, as much as I love brown and much as it does wonders for my colouring, I'd be surprised if it ever trumps black in my wardrobe either, if only by virtue of the fact that there are more vintage, repro and vintage appropriate garments (and accessories, etc) to be had in black than brown. That said, I do really plan to add at least a few more brown pieces (as chatted about here, I want a brown suit sooo badly!) to my closet this year and to make the most of those that I have. Perhaps I can even spark a resurgence of interest in this timeless colour - if only amongst us vintage loving folks! :)

So, the whole time I was guessing "Brown", but i was thinking that I'd be wrong because you'd have some sort of fancier name for the color. (Because fancy names for colors are the norm, haha!) I like that you just say plain old "Brown" and I'm excited to see the way you wear it. I really have never worn much brown--I'm drawn much more to the cool color and I think they're most flattering on me, but I love seeing it on others!

That's cute! :) So far, with my colours of the years, I haven't narrowed them down to just one shade, but instead focused on a whole colour, so as to hopefully have an even better chance of growing that colour's presence in my wardrobe. There are only so many (colours) out there though, so if I do this for long enough, I may need to venture into shade/tone/hue territory one day! :)

Brown has been my colour of choice for a couple of years now and it's still my go to colour when buying fabric yarn and such. I'm trying to branch out but always go back to the warm fuzzy feeling brown gives me. When I redesigned our bedroom 4 years ago it was around the colour brown but looking around my house I realize I've pulled bits and pieces of brown into the rest of the house. Heck even my dogs are brown. lol

... the peacock skirt! i want it! i love peacocks, i love skirts .... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! sadly there is no shop, when i click the link ... ;)...oh, i'm totally NO cupcake person - but these behive one with the cute little bee are so cute ... i want to know how they taste ... yum.

I madly adore peacocks and peacock themed items as well. I hope we're both able to find skirts akin to this one day, too. In fact, come to think of it, I should write a post devoted just to peacock themed fashions - I'll aim do to so this year.

What beautiful inspirations Jessica!I still do not know the social network Flickr, I know now through the cute links you left here.I'm sure I will delight me! What wonderful photos!Tons of hugs!Love, Cris.

Brown seems to divide opinion into 'never ' or 'love' camps. I was a dramatic teenager and my wardrobe was almost all black for a while, but as an adult and especially since discovering my 'autumn' palette, I have become incredibly fond of all shades from the lightest milk to the darkest of chocolate. They really bring out the golden tones in my skin. I have also noticed how well these shades suit you (I remember one post where you wore three little leaf brooches in autumn hues - do you remember that one?) and I will look forward to spotting when you have woven this magical colour into your 2015 ensembles x x

Very, very true regarding the two camps (I can't help but think of raisins in the same light - which coincidentally or not are brownish as well). I think that's part of the reason I'm so drawn to brown as well. Not only is fall's palette (humbly) very becoming on me, but from a purely visual standpoint, I have always adored the colours of that season above those from the others.

I think that some folks forget that brown has so many shades. From pale taupe and sand to nearly black shades of rich espresso, warm fox to soothing cedar there are so many wonderful hues to work with and as with any colour, there's at least one or two that will flatter 99% percent of folks out there.

Excellent memory, my sweet friend! I do indeed remember that post. It was from the fall of 2013. We took those shots with the vintage maple leaf scatter pins very shortly after returning home from our lovely trip to Calgary that year. Aside from the fact that dress didn't fit me right (too tight in the bust, which almost never happens to me), I loved that dress, but think my favourite brown ensemble, also from the fall of 2013, that I've shared here to date is this one: http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2013/11/a-charming-vintage-leaf-applique-skirt.html

I won't be the tiniest bit surprised if some of those same brown garments and accessories pop up again in outfit post here this year. :)

Thank you very much for your terrific comment. Have a beautiful day!♥ Jessica

I love brown but sadly it doesn't feature in my wardrobe as much as I'd like. Having said that, I do have quite a bit of brown fabric in my stash and hope to be using some of it this year. I'm really getting sick of black all the time :) so it'll be a nice change.

Black is undeniably fantastic and certainly has its rightful place in just about anyone's wardrobe, but is great to shake things up a bit and brown can really do that as, unlike black there's a whole spectrum of shades and hues to work (yes, there are intensities of black, but it's not the same thing). I look forward to seeing some of the brown pieces you'll make this year, if you share them with us, dear Shelley.

Sweet Jessica darling gal! You know how much I love brown. I wear it all the time and I find myself trying really hard to go for other colours, but I love it so much that I always come back to it. This is really exciting for me and I cannot wait to see what magic combinations you are presenting on your beautiful blog.

That sounds like me with red, black, and grey in the winter (I've long come to view these three as my unofficial winter wardrobe). It's awesome to have signature colours though and it really sounds like brown is one of yours. I'd be a happy camper if it became one of mine, too, as time goes on.

I'm really excited two. With my past two colours of the year (I started assigning one in 2013) - green and purple - I felt like I had a fair bit of each already, but such is not the case with brown for the most part and I'm looking forward to expanding that portion of my wardrobe and making the most out of those lovely brown pieces that I do already have. It's going to be tons of fun! :)

If some one can pull off brown, it is you, dear. I am pale blonde, so brown is not for me. Not that I don't like brown, I LOVE my brown Chesterfield sofas I'm sitting in right now, but not in my wardrobe. I remember 2013 as being your green year, and mine too, and it still is. I think it is very hard to find nice green items. I do also love the Pantone colour of 2015, Marsala, but I don't know if it is considered brown, because it is a brownish red. I think it will be a lovely lipstick colour, dark and kind of neutral. I will find one and give it a try. And I will look forward to seeing what you come up with, dear. PS: I have opened a "Made by Me" section in my Etsy shop today, I am so excited. :) You can have seed bead jools made just as you like them, but unfortunately I don't have any brown beads.

It's wonderful that you've been able to weave brown into your home even though it's not a colour that generally looks good on you fashion wise (your colouring is similar to my mom's and she rarely wears brown either). So true about green - especially on the vintage and repro fashion front. I'm still hunting for more in that area, which is why I pounced on that beautiful dark pine/forest green Hell Bunny Crinoline at Christmas time. If I ever have a repro line (*I wish!!!*), I will definitely include both green and brown offerings for fans like us to avail of! :)

That's super exciting, dear Sanne! I'll check out your new handmade section right away. I'd hoped to do the same with my shop when it launched last year, but running the vintage side of things and keeping up with my blog have already been more than a full plate, so that hasn't happened yet. Perhaps one day. I'll still continue to make jewelry for myself and to give as gifts to friends even if I never sell said handmade creations online.

Thank you, dear. It took me two years to open my handmade section, so you have one more year. ;) I have thought about it for very long, if I would sell anything, what to offer, would it be fun to make if somebody ordered it, etc.? I have also made things for myself and a lot of gifts, and people are always very happy to receive my things. I searched high and low on Etsy and it seems I am the only one who makes the jools I offer AND I am the only one who customize them. I think it might be fun for my customers to be able to have something made exactly how they prefer it. I am working on some customized bookmarks and mother of pearl button brooches too. But let's see, if I don't sell anything I just take it off again, no harm done.

Good to know! :) Honestly, the longer I'm on Etsy, the more my gut says that my focus is just going to be on vintage or that if I was going to sell handmade items, perhaps to open a second shop and keep the two separate. I love focusing on selling vintage and think it makes the most sense for me do so now, so I really don't feel like I'm falling behind or am worried about not having posted handmade items yet. If it happens some day, awesome, it not, that's totally fine, too. I definitely agree with you about how special it is though to send handmade/customized products in your shop. That's a great approach to take and I really hope that it pays off for you. Definitely let me know if I can help you in any way, my sweet friend.

Jessica, sadly: I can't.When it comes to brown.. my only words are: I CAN'T.There's no appeal in the color (my super-colored mind can't handle the lack of "boom" in that tone). Anything brown makes my complexion appear sicklish.. and no matter how much I try to incorporate it - I can't.

I get that for sure, my dear. We all have some colours that we just don't look good in and/or don't like one iota. It's totally normal! There are some colours - lime green, magenta/fuschia, certain purples and yellows, etc that look scary bad on me most of the time.

I think that if we're generous with category of brown shades, we can't definitely put camel (ditto for sand and taupe) into that heading too, so you don't have to be put off by all brown shades entirely. :)

Great colour choice! I love brown. In fact, I am wearing it at the moment! A chocolate brown quilted skirt (new but vintage appropriate) and a chartreuse cardigan. I think one of the reasons I like brown so much is that it goes so well with all my favourite colours - teal, mustard, autumn berries, burnt orange. Yum! I hope that you find your brown suit this year. I love the brown shoes in your pictures and the colours and hair accessories in the picture of the waltz.

Thank you very much, my dear friend! How cool that we're both a big fan of this timeless colour. Your outfit sounds beautiful. Chartreuse is a hue that absolutely does not get enough love in this day and age. One sees and hears mention of it all the time in early and mid-twentieth century fashion settings, but these days it seems to have all but fallen off the colour wheel.

Ooohh, you're describing some of my all-time favourite colours, too. No other season's rainbow of shades speaks to me more than autumn's and I pretty much live in them from September to early December.

Thank you! I hope I do as well. If I added only one new brown garment to my wardrobe this year, a 40s or 50s brown suit is what I'd want it to be.

Absolutely!!! Let's start a campaign on that front! Though, interestingly enough, it's not the world's most flattering hue on me, I do love it to bits and with all such colours, one can still wear them in smaller doses and use them their home decor, craft projects, etc.

How very authentic that YOU pick your own colour and not have anyone or any company (Pantone) pick it for you. I think rich brown is a marvellous colour and that it suits you and makes your eyes glow. If I had to pick a colour for me for this year, I think it might be dark blue. I am still catching up on my reading. Have a nice weekend Jessica.

Thank you very much, dear Lorena. It's something I started doing in 2013 and really love it, so I suspect I'll keep assigning colours or hues to years for many more to come. Interestingly, the closest runner up for me this year was a very light colour, which I think speaks to the fact that I like to wear such a broad range of shades.

I love dark blue, too - royal, indigo, midnight, denim, navy - it's all good in my books. Blues look gorgeous on you, my sweet friend, and I'm excited to see the outfits you'll feature them in throughout 2015.

I'm Jessica, a lifelong lover of all things antique and vintage, especially those from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

This blog is my visual scrapbook in which I record and share my thoughts on the multitude of sources, people and products that inspire and feed a modern gal's addiction to the past. I also post about the vintage clothes, hairstyles and make-up looks that I adore wearing.

Stay a spell and have a blast as we explore the incomparably fantastic world of vintage history and fashion together.

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